Christmas Tablescape

Lois Daughtridge brings her experience in advertising/public relations, retail and interior design to her new role as owner of The Boutique, a local business that has been helping customers set tables for nearly 60 years.

The Style

1. Choose understated colors. Green and gold can definitely be Christmas colors, but these colors we used can be used other times of year as well.

2. Choose a cohesive palate but a mixture of patterns and even flatware to add interest to the table.

3. Don't be afraid to mix it up. "If you have a lot of familial pieces, it can be fun to pull them all together. Most of us probably have lost or broken pieces in our collections. Rather than tracking down and filling in with matching pieces, you can just combine patterns for a more eclectic look and feel," says Daughtridge. 4. Add local flair with your floral arrangement. Mary Silsby and Kit Bennett at Lotus Flower created this beautiful arrangement for the Christmas affair. They localized it with magnolias, lilies and eucalypti. "I used Camellias, cedar and holly out of my own garden and used a variety of drinking glasses instead of vases," says Daughtridge.

The Place Setting

1. Our place setting is typical of what a bride would choose. You can never go wrong with a beautiful white linen tablecloth, place mats and napkins.

2. We love mirrors, and a mirror under the floral arrangement adds light, makes the table look bigger and can make candle light even more impactful.

3. Mix and match your flatware and china patterns. Choose one or two elements to bring cohesion to the table. In this case we chose the linens and the stemware. These were the only things exactly alike at this table of four that I set.